THERE was a genuinely lovely news story this week about a man from Co Down sacrificing his personal best at the Boston Marathon to help a fellow runner who had collapsed to cross the finish line.

A clip of the moment quickly went viral and was picked up by publications around the world, including this one.

For me, watching it was heartening and, in a small way, restored my faith in people. But it also wasn’t particularly surprising that the man in question, Aaron Beggs, was from Bangor.

We tend to get bogged down in the negatives of living in the north, and there are plenty. But on a global stage, we are generally looked upon quite fondly, often in ways that feel slightly at odds with how we see ourselves.

Sarah Creighton: I’m Protestant, I’m British and I’m Irish – why is that a problem?

Cormac Moore: New treasure trove of census data sheds light on Protestant flight from Free State after partition

Read........

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